Characterizing Magnitude and Selectivity of Attrition in a Study of Mild Cognitive Impairment

OBJECTIVES

Attrition is one of the greatest difficulties in longitudinal studies on cognitive ageing because of the associated risk of underestimating declines. The aims of this paper were to characterize the magnitude and selectivity of attrition in a study of mild cognitive impairment.

DESIGN

Forty two patients with multiple-domain amnestic MCI, 71 with single-domain amnestic MCI, 35 with non-amnestic MCI and 318 healthy controls were recruited from primary care centers and assessed at baseline.

MEASUREMENTS

All participants underwent extensive neuropsychological evaluation, including the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Californian Verbal Learning Test, the CAMCOG-R battery, the Counting Span task and Listening Span task, and the Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire.

RESULTS

21.5% of the participants at baseline did not participate in the follow-up assessment. Comparison between respondents and non-returners did not reveal differences in cognitive performance in the MCI group. Data obtained at the initial assessment regarding comorbidity, social activities and attention given to memory training enabled prediction of the status of the participants in the follow-up assessment.

CONCLUSION

Identification of potential non- returners is relevant, especially in MCI studies, in order to develop retention strategies to minimize attrition.

[Constructive praxis to the copy: extended standards of the Barcelona test]

BACKGROUND

Drawings tasks have achieved a very central position in neurology by virtue of their sensitivity to many different kinds of brain lesions. Variables of age and education may significantly affect test performance and therefore should taken into account when developing test norms.

OBJECTIVES

To increase the sample of the original version of the Barcelona test (BT) and analyze the results of the drawing task.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

322 normal subjects (47.1% women and 52.9% males), stratified in 7 groups according to age and education were included in the large sample. Copying subtest of the BT were used. Descriptive statistics and multiple lineal regression were applied to the data.

RESULTS

Due to the relevance of age and education on coping drawing tasks (Kruskal-Wallis: p < 0.001 for age and p < 0.001 for education). Both variables (age and education) were analyzed using multiple lineal regression in order to establish possible effects of age and/or education for each group (F = 18.073; p < 0.001). Subjects aged more than 70 had the best adjust to the regression model (R2 = 0.4245; F = 18.07; p < 0.001; delta R2 = 13.56). Furthermore age has an important role as modulator to the results.

CONCLUSIONS

Age and education influenced copying drawing performance for raw scores as well as when considering timed performance, in a different way for each studied group. While the correlation of education and performance on copy drawing tasks is a direct one, for age this relation is inverse.

[Digit span, automatic speech and orientation: amplified norms of the Barcelona Test]

BACKGROUND

Digit span, automatic speech and orientation are screening tests of interest in neurology due to their high sensitivity in cerebral pathologies and easy applicability. These tasks assess attention, concentration, mental control, orientation and short-term memory.

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the impact of age and education on the results of the following subtest included in the Barcelona Test: digit span, automatic speech and orientation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

275 normal subjects were evaluated. Mean (SD) age: 52 (17.7), range (18-19). Mean education: 9 (5.5) years, range (0-25). Subjects were stratified into 7 groups by age and education. Nine items of Barcelona Test were used: digits span forward and backward, automatic speech, forward and backward, with and without time, and person, time and place orientation.

RESULTS

Statistical description, parametric and non parametric test. The Kruskal Wallis test was used, showing that aged and education are significant difference in the automatic speech forward or backward, with or without time, while it did not showed a significant difference in the different groups in the orientation tests. Analysis of Variance for group of age and education showed significant differences in the digit span forward and backward (F = 19.92; p < 0.001; F = 18.44, p < 0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Both age (inversely) and education (directly) influenced on the scores of the analyzed items, except to person, place and time orientation that are not affected for them.

[Abstract abilities: amplified norms for the Barcelona Test]

INTRODUCTION

By abstract abilities is understood the ability of comprehend relations identifying the essential components and taking out from them a common feature. Its evaluation constitutes a great challenge for neuropsychology. Several studies have showed the influence of age and formal education in the performance of tests assessing these abilities.

AIM

To analyse the WAIS-style abstract abilities included in the abbreviated version of the Barcelona Test determining the influence of and formal education and obtaining more normative data for a Spanish population.

METHOD

A sample of 264 subjects was randomly selected. The subtests of the Barcelona Test were administered in a single session to every subject. We selected the scores obtained in Arithmetic Problems (raw and timed), Similarities, Digit Symbol and Block Design (raw and timed).

RESULTS

The analysis of the variance showed statistically significant results of the selected items according to age and formal education. The formal education, as the lineal regression showed, resulted significant for all the items, being the Arithmetic Problems the only subtests not influenced significantly by the formal education.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained in this study are in general concordant to the ones of the reviewed bibliography.